100 in Aleppo, 50 in Idlib, Report Says

Syrian rebels have issued a series of statements and videos claiming the capture of large numbers of Syrian soldiers today, with rebel-linked NGOs saying a total of 150 were taken prisoner, including 100 in Aleppo and 50 in Idlib.

The videos include dozens of different captured Syrians, mostly dressed in civilian clothing, but identifying themselves as top Syrian commanders in the region. Some include “confessions” of involvement in killing protesters.

The reliability of such claims are of course impossible to verify, and doubly so because fighting is continuing across northern Syria, with a major battle building up every day in Aleppo, where both rebels and regime have deployed large numbers of reinforcements for a “decisive” battle expected any day now.

Not everyone is being held permanently in Syria however. Two European journalists, captured by one of the Islamist rebel factions were released today after the group failed to secure a ransom for them and apparently got tired of trying. The journalists say most of the fighters in the rebel group were Africans and Chechens and “there wasn’t a Syrian present.”